Ruminations
by jadeddiva
Summary: The thoughts of an old hermit when a young boy and his droids show up on his doorstep. Oneshot.


Author's Note: George Lucas owns Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, and the rest of their friends. I just borrowed them for the morning.

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**Ruminations**

He had not been expecting any visitors that morning, but when a young blond-haired boy showed up, he was not surprised.

He never received visitors. To receive visitors, one would have to tell those they knew where one resided. Everyone he knew was dead.

He had felt a small tremor the night before, like a small stone was thrown into the magnificent pond of the Force. Ripples of motion, oscillating waves of feeling told him _something_ was coming.

He prepared for the worst. He packed up his few possession into a bag, and placed it by the door. He counted and recounted his credit chips. Enough to buy him passage on a transport. Where would he go? He didn't know. Alderaan didn't seem out of the question, but what of the current state of the galaxy? There was only so much a hermit could pick up in the space ports on his occasional trips into town for supplies.

The howls of Tusken Raiders brought him out of his hovel that morning. Was that it? Was he to be attacked by Sand People? He removed his lightsaber from the trunk and hoped that he would be able to fight them, being so long out of practice.

But…_there._ A distinct feeling, a distinct person. Though his skills in the Force had diminished since he no longer had use for them, he could still make out life forms. This one glowed brightly, shining through the Force. He had met this one before, had held this one in his arms when it was a babe, had saved it. He had seen this life form only on random occasions, when he happened to be in Anchorhead at the right time to catch a glimpse of the growing child.

Perhaps all this time in the desert was for a reason. Perhaps the time had come.

He found the boy unconscious, his body dumped beside his abandoned speeder. He scared them off, the boy's attackers, and then he cautiously approached him.

He was nervous. He had often thought of how he would approach the boy, try to lead him to his destiny. All those carefully-worded speeches flew out the window as he turned and heard the subdued beeping of an R2 unit.

To his right was a familiar droid. On the ground was the boy that would bring balance to the Force. Farther off in the canyon lay another familiar droid.

Obi-Wan smiled. This would be easier than he had hoped.

Later, after he had brought them back to his meager homestead, he watched as the boy gazed at his sister for the first time in a long time. He could sense the confusion from the boy – here was an attractive girl, begging for help, but how could he help her? – and was amused. Obi-Wan had always wondered how the twins would reunite, though now the answer seemed obvious.

He hadn't expected Bail to send her here, to Tatooine. He hadn't expected her to be taken prisoner. Obi-Wan hadn't even expected he'd be needed ever again. He had resigned his life to watching, waiting for the right moment.

Perhaps now was the right moment.

and Obi-Wan could only guess at who had attacked a counselor ship. The Emperor's lap-dog, creator of the lightsaber that his guest now held carefully in his hand. The Force worked in mysterious ways sometimes.

But what now?

There was another tremor in the Force, and he sensed death. Things were moving, picking up speed, gaining momentum. _Always in motion, the Future is. _The actions of the young princess had set about a chain-reaction, which would lead to – Obi-Wan hoped – to balance in the Force. To the restoration of proper government to the galaxy. To the reunion of Padme's two children.

He would have to go to Alderaan, and see Bail. It was time to come out of hiding. He would have to bring the boy and the droids with him. He would have to convince the boy that leaving Tatooine was a good idea, that his aunt and uncle would not mind. Though, Obi-Wan thought sadly, they really had no imput in the future anymore.

So this was it. The day he had been waiting almost twenty years for. The end of something that had been set in motion on Mustafar so long ago. Only, he knew sadly, his destiny was on different path; he would not see the end of things. He would not see Salvation.

He turned to the boy and smiled slightly. "You must learn the ways of the Force, if you are to accompany me to Alderaan."


End file.
